People who design houses should have to live in them!

[SweetMoon]

Went to view a new build yesterday on a new development. Nice looking house but there was a major WTF moment with its design.

It was a town house over 3 floors and had 4 bedrooms. 3 Bedrooms were ensuite. Bedroom 4 was the smallest bedroom and then right next to it a massive family bathroom. But the other bedrooms all had decent size ensuites, including 2 with baths so basically the only bedroom using the massive bathroom would be the small bedroom 4.

Why not just make that en suite aswell? Or better yet, use bedroom 3's big ensuite as the family bathroom (it could be accessed from the landing if a door put in) and have the massive bathroom as another bedroom or a study?

Or am I missing something? There was a seperate toilet on the ground floor for guests, so bathroom wouldn't even be used by a visitor.

Although quite a big house there was also nowhere to store your hoover or a broom or anything as no tall cupboard or even a space where they can stand. That was a little odd. The downstairs loo was huge, so again could easily have been half the size and then a lovely cupboard could have been next to it there.

AIBU to think people that design these new houses should be made to live in them for a month afterwards so they can realise all the little things that are just odd!

I hate the lack of storage areas in the majority of British houses. It drives me potty. Where are you supposed to put your stuff?

I think a lot of new builds are badly thought throgh. 4/5 bed houses where the actual living space downstairs is poky. Also I would rather have fewer bedrooms which are a proper double size than 4 or 5 bed houses where you can't have a decent amount of furniture in the rooms.

I think it's still nice to have a family bathroom though, not all en suites.

So many new build communities really are the 'slums of tomorrow.'

Yup!

Multiple bedrooms and bathrooms squeeze into tiny footprints. No built in storage for mop/hoover/DIY equipment. Tiny bedrooms you can't fit a king sized bed in. Horrible low ceilings because it is cheaper.

Who wants a 4 bed 4 bathroom house unless you are renting to 4 individuals?!?

The UK general public have something to answer for though - when you stop buying a house on the number of bedrooms, and start costing on a £/sqft basis you would start to reject the shit designed houses.

I agree. When I was looking for a house if I couldn’t see where to store the ironing board, hoover or Christmas tree then it was a no go.

What is this obsession with toilets?

I don't understand our obsession with semi-detached houses. Cue endless neighbours wars because of noise, partition wall agreements, it's a nightmare. It got even worst with people putting tv in their bedrooms, I feel sorry for the neighbours who have litterally nowhere to expect next door noise.

I think that's bad design again: our semi has all the quiet rooms on the inside and all the noisy rooms on the outside, so e.g. our stairs and bathroom and kitchen are against the party wall and the living room, dining room and playroom are on the far side. They don't hear us and we don't hear them.

Given a fixed size plot (£££££) I maintain it is more efficient and more convenient to touch the neighbours on one side and have a wide space or garage on the other, than to have a passage on both sides. Is fully-detached a snobbery thing?

The answer unfortunately is that very little thought seems to go into bog-standard developments. They can sell them anyway (amazing to me but there you go). They can do sensible design when they want to - the really high-end development near us has houses that look great - good-sized rooms, great layout and loads of storage - but you'll be looking at over a million quid for them . Basically in this country the thinking seems to be that us plebs don't seem to deserve good design - look at Germany or Sweden as a contrast and weep. Buggy parks in communal area of apartments? check. Big entrance halls for coats/boots/etc? Yup. Lots of natural light? Minimum standards for space? Yep. Whereas we get bargain-basement rabbit-hutches designed to barely last 50 years and are sold with the sole intention of maximising profit.

Actually, how come houses in the UK don't generally have a basement? I've lived in 5 different European countries and everywhere most houses will have a full basement for your boiler, utility room, storage and so on. Is there a geological reason you can't dig or is it just customary so most people wouldn't ask for one?

Is fully-detached a snobbery thing?

no, it's a blissful way to live without worrying about your own noise and other people's noise! It's just freedom.

Most semis around here are attached on the master bedroom/ living room side. Ridiculous design, I can't imagine laying in bed knowing there's only a wall separating me from the neighbours bed.

Well if your front door can't be accessed by wheelchair then there is no point in designing a toilet that can accommodate one is there

I had a friend who lived in a third floor flat with no lift. They had a wheelchair accessible toilet.

I think explains it all.

YANBU. We bought a new build 2 years ago and had to pay to move radiators as they were put in such stupid places that we couldn't fit furniture in.

YouTheCat

We live in a new build with wide doorways and a large downstairs bathroom. The front door is down three steps so I am not sure how we are meant to get in to access these helpful designs should we need a wheelchair in the future.

Mind you the large bathroom has come in handy for baby changing / small child sick bugs so I guess that's something.

We live in an extended semi and we never hear our neighbours as it is all brick built and the stairs are on the party wall. There are some brand new houses being built opposite (been invited to an open house in a couple of weeks, can't wait to go for a nose!). I have looked at the plan. The largest house is detached 5 bed, but downstairs it only has a large kitchen diner and a sitting room. That to me is not nearly enough space for a family. The bedrooms are on the snug side too. The square footage is quite a bit less than our semi, even though we are 4 bed, and the (new build) garden is tiny. We have got 3 reception rooms, which we use fully, despite only being us two. I think I would go mad if I had kids and only 1 reception room. The price of this house is eyewatering too, considering we are in the west country. I just don't think it would be a good buy for anyone. I know our 70s semi is rather plain, but at least they put in lovely large rooms and a decent sized garden (and plenty of parking).

Well I don't know how you would manage in my semi detached ( stone walls 😊 ) cottage.
We have kitchen , dining room, sitting room, downstairs. Three bedrooms upstairs with one tiny bathroom. I brought up four children and have a part time DH so six of us.
We have an extra toilet in an outhouse.

We managed! I lived in a house with two bathrooms for a while. I also lived in a house with twelve bedrooms and six bathrooms in Scotland.

Took me ages to find the house I am now living in.

I had a specific wish/need list.

NO ensuites.

Large family bathroom with a separate shower and bath.

Utility room.

Downstairs toilet.

Totally separate living room.

Good size garden that was natural and not just a square box.

Off road parking.

Large bedrooms.

Plenty of storage.

So that ruled out every single new build in my area.

We ended up buying a house built in 1896 that had EVERTYHING on my list, and more.

Most of them were boring hutches with no character or warmth.

Never mind whether or not you can hear people in the room next door peeing. When I lived in a new build we could hear the next door neighbour peeing, the insulation between houses was so crap!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who prioritises storage over bathrooms! I stayed in a new build house recently and there wasn't really room for a double bed and my suitcase, let alone a wardrobe or chest of drawers. The high standard of insulation and tiny windows made it feel airless and increased the general sense of claustrophobia. And I don't even live in a big house normally!

We live in a new build, great insulation (can’t hear neighbours), accessible front door, wide wheelchair friendly internal doors, electrics already in place for a stairlift if needed in future, wide landings, master bedroom huge and can fit a super king size bed, other bedrooms can all fit a double. All great until you come to the downstairs loo, yes it has a wide door, big enough because I shove mops and buckets, ironing board etc in it (no room in the utility room for them ) but they’ve put the sink on the wall by the door so you couldn’t actually get a wheelchair in there Bizarre planning there!

I don't undestand the problem with an en-suite per bedroom.

Assuming you don't have staff to do cleaning, you still don't have to clean 3/4/5 bathrooms, because each bathroom is the responsibility of the occupants of the attached bedroom.

OK that doesn't work for small children, but for how much of your life will you have small children in the house? And during that (small part of the) time you could just lock their bathroom and make them use yours, if it's really an issue.

I don't know if it's unique to the UK, but I have to think that the way houses are marketed on number of rooms and not on square footage is related to Britain having the smallest houses in Europe. I've read a lot of interior design stuff that's about creating the illusion of space, an illusion that's shattered if you actually live there, because there isn't the actual space.

I guess they keep being built because they keep selling. Personally I wouldn't buy a new build. I don't think they're built to last so you're probably in for a lot of expensive work soon after you've paid off the mortgage, and I also don't want to be the mug who finds out it was never built right to begin with.

Of course plenty of older houses are small too, but I sort of think they're more honest about it IYSWIM.

It's pretty easy to understand about not wanting an ensuite for every bathroom: many people would prefer larger bedrooms.

I've noticed they are now building these 5 bed " executive " boxes as three storey so you get a piddling downstairs and you pay through the nose while the developer gets a 5 bed price for a 3 bed footprint.

lot of interior design stuff that's about creating the illusion of space, an illusion that's shattered if you actually live there, because there isn't the actual space.

so true!

Most design advice to make small spaces look bigger or how to utilise your space shows rooms that are massively bigger than the average UK one! There's no way to make a "box room" called cupboard in any other country bigger.
The best one I have seen was not only a "box" room, BUT had the box of the stairs in it, so there was a custom-made bed on top of that. I've never felt more claustrophobic in my life, just looking at it

Photo to clarify, but actual room had much bigger stair box. Horrendous. It would have barely made a decent wardrobe, but to call it a room?

Its rather depressing. The sheer beauty, style, design of period homes compared with the utter mass produced shit they build now.

And people pay through the nose. i do NOT understand!!

So many new build communities really are the 'slums of tomorrow.'

Totally agree @windygallows

It makes me so cross. No garden space, few green spaces etc.
Round here the only exemplary developments are those built by housing associations, the private developments are all horribly densely packed, no gardens, minimal “shared living space” (sitting rooms etc) and then 18million bathrooms. It’s stupid.

We need to move soon and may have no choice but to buy a newish property and the thought of it makes me very grumpy!